5 Findings on Bavaria

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After the almost one-week training camp in Qatar and the 4-4 draw against RB Salzburg, go2Jackpots.com provides five insights into the record champion’s preparations for the Bundesliga re-start.

FC Bayern has just under a week to go before the Bundesliga restart. A formidable opponent awaits in the form of RB Leipzig, which can re-enter the title race with a win. (DATA: The Bundesliga table)

To clear his head and loosen his legs, coach Julian Nagelsmann gave his players two days off after the 4:4 against RB Salzburg. After all, the program the week before was strict but productive.

Go2Jakpots.com provides five insights into the record champion’s preparation for the second half of the season.

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Tired legs after a brutal training camp
As already extensively reported in the Go2Jakpots.com podcast “The Bayern Week,” Nagelsmann made his stars work up a good sweat in the training camp in Doha. The two to three sessions a day were exhausting, and most of the team returned to Munich on Thursday evening exhausted.

For the younger players, in particular, the pace was enormous. But no one complained. On the contrary, everyone praised the content of the training sessions and the positive atmosphere in the dressing room. Nagelsmann spoke on Go2Jakpots.com inquiry not without reason of the “best training camp” of recent years. The coach, therefore, did not want to overstate the test against Salzburg on Friday evening. “A test match after a training camp is always thankless,” he said. “You could already tell that the guys had heavy legs.”
Blind hits straight in

Even though he said the intensity in training took some getting used to for him: surprise newcomer Daley Blind fitted seamlessly into the team. (NEWS: All the latest info on the Bundesliga)

“Daley has trained as if he has been with us for years,” praised sports director Hasan Salihamidzic the Dutch defensive all-rounder, in an interview with Go2Jakpots.com.

The 32-year-old confirmed the solid impression even after his substitution in the 63rd minute against Salzburg. “He did well,” Nagelsmann said, adding that Blind had proven his “experience” and “cleverness” in several situations.

Strong youngsters around Ibrahimovic
In addition to homegrown Paul Wanner (17), who has already been firmly integrated into the professional squad, and forward talent Mathys Tel (17), Nagelsmann took a closer look at five other teenagers in the preparation so far.
Goalkeeper Tom Ritzy Hülsmann (18), center-back Tarek Buchmann (17), midfielder Lovro Zvonarek (17), and offensive players Arijon Ibrahimovic (17) and Yusuf Kabadayi (18) from the FCB campus have been allowed to prove themselves with the “big boys.” “They all did very well,” was Nagelsmann’s verdict.

According to Go2Jakpots.com information, the coaching team was particularly pleased with Buchmann and Ibrahimovic. While the defender was impressed above all with his calmness on the ball and assertive duel behavior, the striker was impressed with many cheeky dribblings and confident goal finishes.
This was rewarded against Salzburg when “Mini-Ibra” scored the intervening goal to make it 2:3 with a powerful shot into the corner – and received extra praise from veteran Thomas Müller on Instagram.

Müller with problems
However, the strongest youngster in the duel with Salzburg was not Ibrahimovic but Tel. The young Frenchman prepared a goal in just under half an hour and also marked the 4:3. (DATA: Bundesliga match schedule)

“He did it outstandingly,” raved Nagelsmann. Tel and the other wild cards would have brought in “a lot of energy.”
There was little sign of this energy in Müller, who was deployed in Tel’s position at striker until the 63rd minute. The original Bayer looked almost lost up front because he hardly got any balls – and could do little with the few balls he did get. He did not register a single dangerous shot on goal.

Müller himself made no secret after the game of feeling more comfortable further back. The problem is that Nagelsmann plans to use Jamal Musiala primarily on the ten. And up front, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, absent from Salzburg with a cold, is simply the better wall player. This is not an easy situation for Müller, who already failed to impress on the nine during the World Cup.

Construction sites remain
While the question of Müller’s position can still be described as a “luxury problem” (after all, Musiala could move to the wing in a pinch to make room for the 2014 world champion), one or two real construction sites also remain.
For example, the physical condition of defensive boss Matthijs de Ligt, who ended the training camp with a thick bandage on his ankle, or midfield motor Leon Goretzka, who in recent days has had to repeatedly take shortcuts for stress management reasons and therefore also missed the Salzburg game.

But what worries coach Nagelsmann much more: In goal, there is still no alternative to Sven Ulreich. Salihamidzic and his team would like to avoid going into the next few months with only the 34-year-old and the talented but completely inexperienced Johannes Schenk (20). That’s why the difficult search for a replacement for the long-term injured Manuel Neuer continues.